It is well recognized that an aquarium bridge is entertaining and visually stimulating. In addition, the present invention is beneficial to reduce the stress and shock to fish during the cleaning process by eliminating the netting and storage of the fish.
Fish bridges and other attachments for aquarium tanks are known in the art for providing similar visual effects. However, in prior art patent references of Polin (U.S. Pat. No. 1,576,426), Gibson Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,715), Beck (U.S. Pat. No. 2,059,927) that are of a tubular design leave the possibility of fish getting caught and jammed inside the bridge. Also, due to size restrictions, these prior art patents eliminate the possibility of more than one fish crossing at the same time or the turning around of fish while fish swim inside the bridge. Moreover, often the prior art patents include a hollow arch which must be inverted under the water and then awkwardly raised with the water therein to provide a bridge with water for fish to swim in.
In contrast to the above prior art patents, the present invention does not have to be inverted to be filled, as it is filled in the working position. In comparison to the prior art patents of Bringman (U.S. Pat. No. 1,943,417) and Gibson Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,715) the present invention does not need to be submerged into the tank and raised into an upright position with fluid therein, thereby causing turbulence in the tank and upsetting the fish.
Moreover, in the Bringman '417 patent, the bridge is constructed of glass and metal design, not allowing the complete visibility of the fish. In contrast, the present invention is of a completely plastic design allowing total transparency from all angles. Also, by being constructed of plastic and not glass, the fish and the aquarium owner benefit from a safer device.
While the Hand (U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,439), prior art reference includes an arch, the configuration design of Hand '439 is complicated and overly engineered, resulting in a unit that is difficult to fill and extremely time consuming in the initial set-up. Also, due to its electrical structure it is not energy efficient, and is costly to the consumer. Because Hand '439 uses mechanically pumped-in pressure to forcefully move air out of an arched bridge, there is a danger of explosive force. Moreover, Hand '439 requires manually installed cups to keep water from dripping back into tanks from the arch, which is not peaked like the arch of the present invention, into the tank. Furthermore, Hand's elbowed corners do not present a generally continuous arched surface, and interfere with efficient evacuation of air bubbles.
While both the Hand '439 prior art reference and the present invention are filled with already conditioned water, the present invention is filled by gravitational forces, as done in the Palen and Sexton '595 prior art reference (U.S. Pat. No. 192,595). However, the method described in Hand '439 utilizes a force-fed water fill-up creating intense explosive forces. The present invention eliminates the explosive forces and also does away with the need for an explosive proof valve.
A difference between the present invention and the Palen and Sexton '595 prior art reference is that Palen and Sexton utilizes a rounded arch bridge, which permits air bubbles to travel along the interior curved arch surface without being released at the suction top.
In contrast, the tapered, straight-walled arched bridge of the present invention funnels any air bubbles to a peaked center suction outlet, so that air can be captured in one bubble for withdrawal through the air exit tube of the present invention. Furthermore, the peaked arch of the present invention has a limited volume, such as 10 gallons of water for a 50 gallon tank, to eliminate the possibility of an accidental overflow. In contrast, the curved arch bridge of the Palen and Sexton '595 prior art reference permits more than half the total volume of water on the bridge tank system to reside in the bridge. Moreover, in Palen and Sexton '595, while it uses a suction pump with a flap valve, there is provided no control to prevent water from entering the outlet during the evacuation of water, and no visual check to verify that air has been completely removed.
In contrast, the present invention also utilizes a needle set bleeder valve and an air loop bubble trap to keep water out of the air siphon and to provide a visual check to visibly observe when the air has been completely removed as water begins to enter the air loop bubble trap.
In the prior art of DeShore (U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,583) there is provided a transfer tank system which interlinks tanks with each other by using fixed tubular bridges.
In contrast, the present invention interlinks two tanks with full use of the previous tank system, linking each together while at the same time providing an easily removeable and replaceable bridge for tank expansion and for preparing for cleaning--where the use of the bridge does not require draining of tanks before use.